'Beauty and the Beast' Max Brown Q&A: 'It's a great story to tap into'

New US drama Beauty and the Beast has become a cult hit on both sides of the Atlantic - it's been picking up awards Stateside and now has a dedicated UK fanbase too thanks to Watch, who are airing new episodes of the Kristin Kreuk supernatural romance on Wednesdays at 9pm.

Digital Spy spoke with Max Brown (Spooks, The Tudors) - who plays charming medical examiner Dr. Evan Marks - about his role on the series and why fans have latched on to the relationship between Cat (Kreuk) and Vincent (Jay Ryan)...

How did you first get involved with Beauty and the Beast?"This past year, I went out to LA and did the whole pilot season thing, which is incredibly intimidating - going out and having between three or four auditions every day. It's very hard to remember the lines, let alone the American accent half the time!

"But I managed to get through to the final stages of a few different projects and then you test in front of studio execs - which is something we don't do in England. So there's about 30 people at your final audition - to check if you're the right guy for the job - in a little movie theatre on one of the studios…

"If you get past that stage, you're ready for anything! So then I got the offered the job, which was amazing. I was very happy."

There was another Beauty and the Beast pilot in the works at ABC at the same time as this series was being developed. Why do you think people are still attracted to that story?"It was a big year for fantasy - ABC have that show Once Upon a Time which ties in every fairytale into one show and that's hugely popular. I think Beauty and the Beast in particular is one of the best Disney stories - and one of the most romantic love stories - ever written.

"The other show that was in the making was a period piece, so it was more traditional than our show. And obviously our show is a remake of the original Beauty and the Beast which starred Ron Perlman and Linda Hamilton in the '80s.

"It doesn't stick to too many of [that show's] rules - it was just using the basis of a modern-day fairytale. The last one was set in the '80s and we didn't want to do a Carrie Diaries and jump back, so we set it in the modern-day and kept the lead characters' names, but changed their background stories and their jobs, and introduced new people like my character Evan in the police department.

"But I think it still really works. The basis of the show is this fantastical romance - they're both saving each other, both desperate in their lives - the beauty and the beast - and they kind of find peace with each other."

Cat's relationship with Vincent isn't always straightforward and she has a flirtatious relationship with Evan - could anything ever happen between them?"Evan hopes so - everything he does is for Cat. He's flirtatious with other people - I don't think he sees [a relationship with Cat] as something that's going to happen overnight, but he definitely keeps his interest.

"I think they've known each other for a long time and he's always flirted with her and been interested, but she rebuffs him, so I think at some stage in the story there will be a progression of their relationship and whether it could work on a mature level."

Fans of the show love Cat and Vincent together - are you ever worried that Evan could be seen as a third wheel?(laughs) "Possibly! You never want to be a third wheel! I think with the trials and tribulations within their relationship, there may be room for Evan at some point. I'm sure that their relationship will prevail, but we'll see!"

Evan is a bit of a ladies' man - would you like to see him enter a serious relationship and explore that side of him?"Yeah, I think so. I think there's going to be more interesting storylines revolving around his interaction with Cat, but through evidence that he's finding as he's slowly getting closer to who the Beast is, so that's where the real drama will come out of the show for Evan's character."

Where will Evan's ongoing quest to learn more about cross-species DNA lead him?"It definitely strains his and Cat's relationship as he's getting closer to the source of the cross-species DNA - he's noticing things at crime scenes and starting to mistrust Cat for the first time as he realises that she's covering something up, so there's lots of drama involved around that."

Would you like Evan to find out the truth about Vincent?"Yeah, I think it'd be interesting to let some people into the Cat and Vincent inner circle. They obviously can trust each other and have each other's backs, but apart from JT (Austin Basis), no-one knows about them. To have someone from Cat's world come into that inner circle would be very interesting for the show."

Beauty and the Beast recently won a People's Choice Award for 'Best New Drama' and already has a dedicated fanbase. Why do you think people have latched onto the show so quickly?"I don't know, we've very lucky in that respect. The Beasties - as they call themselves - have been incredible. I think the show we have is a great story to tap into. We've aired 13 episodes out in the States, so they've seen a lot of the show now and the fanbase keeps building, which is fantastic.

"It has that old romance story behind it, with lots of action - what's not to like, really? The fans have tuned in and really got into it, which has been great."

The CW's president has said he sees a "long run" ahead for the show - have you heard anything about a possible season two?"No, sadly we haven't yet, but that doesn't usually happen until you've got the first 22 in the bag. You're usually twiddling your thumbs for about a month before they tell you if you're coming back on a show.

"That even happened with The Tudors and Spooks and everything - that's just the way of the world. Until the controller looks at what he can fit into his schedule, you don't find out.

"There's been no inkling yet from the CW, but hopefully we'll all be back for season two."